The breaking period: Day 5,479, hour 9
The Alpha's meeting hall smelled like power and old wood.
Also fear, but that might have just been me.
I stood in the center of the room while twelve pairs of eyes judged me from their elevated seats. The elders of Pack Mahardika sat in a semicircle like a jury, which was fitting because this definitely felt like a trial.
Alpha Ardana Mahardika sat in the middle, looking like someone had carved him from stone and forgotten to add warmth. His dark hair was graying at the temples, his face lined with the weight of leading one of the oldest packs in existence.
He'd kept me alive for eighteen years.
He'd also let me suffer for eighteen years.
Protection and affection were apparently sold separately.
"Ayla," Ardana said, his voice carrying the authority of someone who'd never been questioned. "Thank you for coming."
Like I had a choice.
"Of course, Alpha," I said, keeping my voice neutral.
One of the elders, Grandmother Sari, ancient and terrifying, leaned forward. "Do you know why you're here, child?"
"I'm guessing it's not to give me a promotion."
Several elders frowned.
Grandmother Sari's lips twitched like she was fighting a smile.
Ardana's expression didn't change. "We've reached a decision regarding your place in this pack."
My stomach dropped. Ninety-seven.
"Your presence here has been... complicated," another elder said. Elder Wira, who always looked at me like I was a stain on his furniture. "You are human in a pack of wolves. You cannot shift, cannot bond, cannot contribute to our strength."
"I contribute," I said. "I work in the kitchens, help with..."
"Manual labor," Wira interrupted. "Work any human could do. You are not pack, girl. You simply... exist here."
The words hit harder than they should have. Probably because they were true.
Ninety-five.
"The question," Ardana said, "is why you remain."
I opened my mouth. Closed it. What was I supposed to say? Because my parents died for me to be here? Because leaving feels like admitting I'm worthless? Because I'm too stubborn to quit?
"Your parents," Ardana continued, reading my silence, "sacrificed greatly to ensure your safety. We honored their wishes. We kept you alive, gave you shelter, protection."
"For which I'm grateful," I said, though the words tasted like ash.
"But that protection comes at a cost," Elder Wira said. "Every day you remain, you remind the pack of your... abnormality. You create questions. Instability."
Ninety-three.
I started counting because the alternative was screaming.
"We believe," Grandmother Sari said gently, which somehow made it worse, "that you would be happier among humans. A fresh start. A normal life."
"I don't want a normal life," I said. "I want to stay."
"Why?" Raka's voice cut through the room.
I hadn't noticed him standing in the shadows near his father. Of course he was here. Probably requested a front-row seat to my humiliation.
He stepped forward, arms crossed. "Give me one good reason why you want to stay in a pack that doesn't want you."
"Raka," Ardana warned.
"No, it's a valid question." Raka's dark eyes pinned me in place. "She has no wolf. No mate prospects. No future here. She's miserable, we're uncomfortable, everyone loses. Why stay?"
Because fuck you, that's why.
I kept that thought internal.
"This is my home," I said instead. "My parents were pack. That makes me pack."
"Your mother was human," Raka said flatly. "Your father is dead. You have no pack blood, no pack bonds. You're here out of obligation, not belonging."
The words were designed to hurt.
They worked.
Ninety-one.
Rivan finally spoke from his position near the wall. "Brother, that's enough."
"Is it?" Raka turned to face the elders. "We all know the truth. Keeping her here helps no one. She doesn't belong here, and she never will. Let her go. Let her build a life where she can actually be happy."
He said it like he cared about my happiness.
Liar.
"The decision," Ardana said firmly, "is not yours to make, Raka."
"But you agree with him." I looked at the Alpha, searching for any hint of the man who'd promised my father to keep me safe. "You want me gone."
Ardana's jaw tightened. "I want you alive. Safe. Neither of which I can guarantee if you remain."
"What does that mean?"
Silence.
The elders exchanged glances.
"There are... forces," Grandmother Sari said carefully, "that have always been interested in your bloodline. Your parents died keeping you hidden. We've continued that protection. But you're an adult now. The danger should have passed."
Should have.
"But it hasn't," I said.
"We believe," Ardana said, "the best course of action is for you to sever your ties to the Moon Goddess. Break whatever spiritual connection remains from your father's blood. Then live among humans where you'll be invisible to those who might hunt you."
My heart pounded. Ninety-nine.
Wait, wrong direction.
Ninety-seven.
"You want me to reject the Moon Goddess."
"It's a formality," Elder Wira said dismissively. "You have no wolf. No bond to break. But the ritual will make it official. You'll be human in every way. Safe."
"And then you'll throw me out."
"We'll help you relocate," Grandmother Sari said. "Provide resources. A new identity if needed. You'll have a chance at a real life."
A real life.
Like this one was fake.
I looked at each elder in turn. Saw pity. Discomfort. Relief.
They wanted me gone.
All of them.
"And if I refuse?" I asked.
Ardana's expression hardened. "Then you put yourself and this pack at risk. I cannot allow that."
"So it's not really a choice."
"No," he admitted. "It's not."
Ninety-five.
The room tilted slightly. Or maybe that was just my entire world shifting.
Raka watched me with cold satisfaction. Rivan looked away like a coward. The elders waited for my compliance.
Only Ardana met my eyes, and what I saw there was worse than hatred.
Resignation.
He'd already given up on me.
"The ritual must be performed at the Moon Goddess temple," Grandmother Sari said. "Tomorrow at dawn. It's... fitting. A proper goodbye."
"How poetic," I said, my voice flat.
"Ayla." Ardana's tone softened slightly. "This is for the best. You'll see."
I wouldn't.
But I nodded anyway because what else could I do?
"Then we're done here," Ardana said. "You're dismissed."
I turned and walked toward the door on legs that felt like they belonged to someone else.
"One more thing," Elder Wira called. "Don't discuss this with the pack. We'll make the announcement after the ritual is complete."
Of course.
Can't have people asking questions.
I left the meeting hall and walked through the pack compound in a daze. People moved around me, laughing, training, living their lives, completely unaware that I'd just been voted off the island.
Ninety-three.
My feet carried me to the edge of the territory without conscious thought. I stood at the tree line, staring into the forest that separated pack land from the outside world.
Tomorrow they wanted me to go to the temple and sever my connection to the Moon Goddess.
Make it official that I didn't belong.
Tomorrow they wanted me to disappear quietly.
"Fuck that," I said to the trees.
If I was going to the temple, I'd go tonight.
On my terms.
Not theirs.
And if I was going to reject the Moon Goddess and leave this pack behind, I'd do it properly. With blood and fire and whatever dramatic flair I could manage.
They wanted me gone?
Fine.
But I'd make sure they remembered me.
I turned and headed back to my room, already planning my midnight trip to the temple.
This was either the best decision I'd ever made or the worst.
Probably the worst.
But at least it was mine.
Ninety-one.